When Luke Weaver showed up at Mets camp with a Yankees duffel bag slung over his shoulder, he probably didn’t expect to spark a full-blown social media firestorm. But welcome to New York baseball - where even your luggage can become a headline.
What should’ve been a mundane moment - a player arriving at his new team’s facility - quickly morphed into what fans dubbed “Bag-Gate,” a symbol of the ever-present, ever-passionate Mets-Yankees rivalry. It didn’t matter that Weaver wasn’t trying to make a statement. In this city, the colors you carry mean something.
Weaver addressed the whole thing on The Show podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman, and to his credit, he handled it with a mix of humor, perspective, and a clear understanding of how things work in a place like New York.
“I thought it was a bit silly personally,” Weaver said. “I understand why people are, you know, I wouldn’t say an uproar, but why they’re talking about it. Like, I get it, but like to your point, it’s very common to bring your old bag to your new team.”
And he’s absolutely right. In the world of Major League Baseball, players bounce from team to team all the time.
Gear is gear. A duffel bag doesn’t get swapped out the minute you change jerseys - it’s just a practical piece of equipment.
But fans don’t always see it that way, especially in a city where the Subway Series isn’t just a matchup - it’s a cultural divide.
Joel Sherman, who’s been covering New York baseball for decades, offered some context that longtime fans and media members alike can appreciate.
“We live in a grievance society,” Sherman said. “People are not happy unless they’re miserable and they come up with reason to be miserable… I bet I’ve covered the game unfortunately because I’m old for 40 years.
Whenever a player goes to a new place, he brings his old bag. Like that’s just, that’s just it.”
That’s the reality from the inside. But from the outside - from the stands, from the timeline - it’s easy to interpret things differently. Especially when the bag in question has pinstripes in its DNA.
Weaver, though, didn’t flinch. He acknowledged the fan reaction without brushing it off, showing some real maturity and an understanding of the passion that fuels the New York baseball scene.
“I’m glad people care. I’m glad they care, you know?”
he said. “Like they wouldn’t be saying nothing if they didn’t care.”
That’s the kind of response that plays well in a clubhouse - and in a city like this. Weaver didn’t just defuse the situation; he used it as a moment to connect with Mets fans and let them know where his heart is now.
“I just need people to take a deep breath, know that I love the Mets now. I’m a Met.
I love where I’m at. I love the teammates so far,” he said.
“I hope to win as many trophies as possible here and I hope to do that with the fans behind us and rooting for me in doing so. So the bag meant nothing.”
In the end, it’s not about the bag - it’s about the buy-in. And Weaver made it clear: he’s all in with the Mets.
The duffel might’ve had a Yankees logo, but the mindset? That’s Mets through and through.